I've hung my overcoat at the crossroads of media technology and social change for the last 20 years as a journalist, author, and consultant. That includes a book - CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World (Wiley) which chronicles the rise of online social activism - and bylines at The New York Times, The Daily Beast, Huffington Post, techPresident.com, Social Edge, Industry Standard, Inside, Worth and Contribute magazines, among many other publications. I co-founded three companies, including the pioneering '90s protoblog @NY and CauseWired, my consulting firm currently advising clients on the social commons. In my spare time, I'm an adjunct instructor of social media and philanthropy at New York University.

Giving Differently: Liberals and Conservatives Have Radically Different Views of Charity

This should shock no one: conservative donors to charity have radically different views about the reasons for giving than their more liberal counterparts. A new study by a team of researchers from Rice University, the University of Texas at San Antonio and Pennsylvania State University shows that the unyielding political split in the U.S. does indeed apply to philanthropy as well.

Republicans’ moral foundations are embedded in respect for authority and traditions, loyalty and purity – so says Rice University Professor Vikas Mittal, co-author of the research paper, which will be published next month in the International Journal of Research in Marketing.

On the other side, Democrats’ moral foundations are rooted in equality and protection from harm, says Mittal.

“The political divide not only impacts political actions, but everyday actions such as donating to charity,” explained Mittal in a press release. “When you ask people if their donation behavior to a charity helping children will change because of their political leanings, most say, ‘Of course not!’ We wanted to see if that is true or not.”

The team devised a unique test to plumb political bias in philanthropic action. They crafted slightly different descriptions of a single charity, Rebuilding Together, which creates affordable homes for low income families. They found that Republicans were three times more likely to part with their money when Rebuilding Together was described as “supporting working American families following traditions and supporting their communities.” On the flip side, Democrats were twice as likely to kick in when the organization was described as “ensuring the protection of a home to every individual.”

The research adds to two additional studies looking at attitudes around children’s charities. Focusing on the participants who value morals highly, the researchers found that when the charity description emphasized protection from harm, Democrats were much more likely than Republicans to donate. But when the charity description emphasized purity and loyalty to community, Republicans were more likely than Democrats to give their money.

“We found that while both Republicans and Democrats tend to equally value justice and caring for the vulnerable, Republicans place a much higher value on issues of purity and respect for authority,” said Karen Page Winterich, study co-author and assistant professor of marketing at Pennsylvania State University. “Given these differences, Republicans are more inclined to donate to a charity when these values of purity and respect are met, whereas Democrats are more inclined to donate when the emphasis is purely on equality or protection rather than respect or purity.”

It’s an interesting study and one that fundraising charities should keep in mind, particularly when approaching prospects for major gifts. However, I also believe – based on my own experience – that political beliefs often melt away in real-life philanthropic situations where there’s a high degree of human empathy with a cause. In other words, when faced with starving children or battered women or the victims of war or disaster, the human qualities of the need – and how that story is told – generally trumps a donor’s political ideology. I’ve seen major Republican political donors give heavily to social services agencies in order to strengthen the safety net and help people in need – and I’ve seen Democrats give to charities that stress market-based solutions to lifting communities out of poverty.

The Rice study, I think, reflects the idea that people’s charitable impulse is grounded (at least to some degree) in their own image of themselves – or their better selves. Yet I’ve seen time and time again that a strong human interest story coupled with the prospect of making real change with their money has led to major philanthropic commitments…regardless of party affiliation.

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Wasn’t the rise of the Third Reich based on “…purity and respect for authority?”

Couch this report in any PC verbiage you like but there IS a difference between Republicans and Democrats. For Democrats the difference usually stops at their heart and for Republicans the difference almost always starts AND stops at the wallet.

Maybe this quote makes it clearer:

“But this I say, He which sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Corinthians 9:6-7″

These Liberal vs. Conservative charity studies have a basic flaw: they include religious giving as charity. Not much of that giving actually goes to charity. Most pays for a spiffy sanctuary, basketball courts, summer camps, drums for the stage band, and some guy to make you feel good about yourself on Sunday morning. Hmmm..maybe that shouldn’t be tax deductible.

hmmm wrong Churches give a lot of money to the poor. For example my Church sends people every year to Appalachia to help people build houses, fix schools, etc. And the hundreds of hours my father has put into rebuilding parts of the Church? that does make me feel good.